"I've always liked math the best," said Michaud, who earned all As on her way to becoming Bristol Eastern's valedictorian. "I liked taking business classes, accounting, information processing, those types of classes."

Michaud, who will study accounting at Fairfield University in the fall, also participated in her school's math honor society.

She said she was particularly inspired by her accounting teacher, Sharon Jacques, and precalculus and statistics teacher Kara Jones, both of whom she would frequently visit to talk with about math and other topics.

Michaud has also left her mark in athletics, running for the cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track teams. She also participated in the Leo Club, a service organization through which she served meals at a soup kitchen and hosted a Halloween party for elementary school students.

Michaud wrote her college application essay about her admiration for her best friend, who pursued her dreams by joining the Marines. That friend, Michaud said, was "really excited" to hear that Michaud had been named valedictorian, and urged her to "keep working hard in college next year."

Reflecting on the honor of being named valedictorian, Michaud said that that it felt "really rewarding to see that that all the work I put in on homework and projects pays off."